Outside Time

Art Generation was a project born out of the tragically early death in 1992 of bassist, singer and songwriter Dimitur (Mitko) Voev, the founder of the Bulgarian dark wave cult band, New Generation (Nova Generatsia).

Early in 93, Mitko's brother and Nova Generatsia guitarist, Simeon (Moni) Voev approached Mechkov with the idea of forming a spin-off band playing the music he was working on with drummer Rossen (Teacher) Daskalov. Nova Generatsia's incumbent keyboard player, Ekaterina Atanasova was to complete the line-up.

The band had an uneasy existence with a lot of onlookers hoping for a continuation of the hugely popular Nova Generatsia, while the band – particularly Teacher and Mechkov – were worried about such comparisons.

The style that emerged was tense and edgy, punk elements nipping at the heels of the dark-wave style, and Mechkov’s voice taking on an almost Gregorian feel at times.

The album, Outside time was recorded at Dilemma Studios during February 1994, sponsored by Rizla + and saw the band embark on several months of regular, medium to large scale concerts.

Mechkov never fully settled with the band, however, and by the summer of 94 he had left the band.

What remains, however, is a highly original album that particularly showcases Moni’s excellent composition and arrangement skills and Mechkov’s lyrical versatility. These two come together especially well on the title track of the album and on the track Micky – the rockiest number on the album, yet the one that Mechkov chose to dedicate to the memory of Mitko Voev.